The Rays beat the Twins for the second time this spring by a score of 7-2. They are now 2-0 in the Knutson Classic, with the next meeting against Minnesota on Tuesday in Ft. Myers.

Tampa Bay had a great showing all around. Pitching wise, Pricey and company struck out 10 batters while walking only one. David Price worked a three inning outing, giving up only one a hit and and no walks on 41 pitches (29 for strikes). Price, who worked on his cutter among other pitches, was very pleased with his performance today, reportedly crediting Jim Hickey for between starts work.

Rays 3/3/13 pitching line (Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

On the offensive end of things, Chris Gimenez hit a two-run homer, and Kelly Johnson had a two-run double which sparked the Rays offense. Matt Joyce and Wil Myers came up big at the plate as well. Joyce hit an RBI double in the fifth, and Myers blasted a stand-up triple thru the wind to deep center in the sixth. Myers was inevitably driven home on a Chris Gimenez sac fly to give the Rays a 5-1 lead.

Rays 3/3/13 offensive line (Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Luke Scott was removed from the game for precautionary reasons stemming from a tight right hamstring after only one at-bat. “My hamstring just got a little tight. Just precautionary stuff, didn’t want to mess with it,” eloquently stated Scott. “The muscle’s just tight. I think cold day, a little bit of fatigue from working my legs.”

The Rays, who improved to 7-3, will face the Red Sox for the third time this spring on Monday in Fort Myers on Monday. Jeremy Hellickson will get the start on the bump. We’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

The Rays are back on the right side of things, beating the Orioles by a score of 4-1. Alex Cobb had an overpowering outing, allowing only one hit in three innings of work while striking out five and allowing no walks. Of the 36 pitches Cobb threw, 28 went for strikes. The right hander showed marked improvement over his first outing of the spring against the Red Sox when he allowed two runs on four hits in two innings of work.

“Felt good,” said Alex Cobb of his outing. “Did my bullpen, worked on a few things from my last outing. … Carried it out to the game and I felt pretty sharp.”

Fernando Rodney was credited with the win following one scoreless inning, facing the minimum of hitters and striking out one. Rodney is projected to leave camp early next week as he will make his way to the WBC where he’ll play for the Dominican Republic. This happened to be Jose Molina and Ben Zobrist’s last game with the Rays prior to the WBC.

Offensively speaking, the long-ball accounted for Tampa Bay’s four runs. Yunel Escobar hit his first home run of the spring, a two-run opposite field blast off of Brian Matusz. Ryan Roberts followed that up by hitting his second Grapefruit League tater, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Sean Rodriguez got his first hit of the spring off of a fifth inning opposite field blast to put the Rays up 4-0.

Rays 3/2/13 box score (Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Rays 3/2/13 offensive line (Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Rays 3/2/13 pitching line (Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

The New What Next: David Price is slated to start against the Twins Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park. Price will likely work three innings in his second outing of the spring. Also scheduled to pitch behind Pricey are Jamey Wright, Joel Peralta, Jake McGee, J.D. Martin and Felipe Rivero.

The Rays made their first round of cuts Saturday, reassigning four players to minor-league camp: Nevarez, Paduch, Patterson, Schenk.

Marc Topkin wrote a really great piece on Chris Archer’s trek for self discovery.

Finally, head of the players union, Michael Weiner, made his way down to Port Charlotte Saturday and shared his views on the Rays organization, including his views on the stadium saga. Weiner had no sense of how the stadium saga would be resolved, though he said elimination of the franchise through contraction wasn’t a viable option — “I don’t think that’s the solution.” He also hasn’t heard any talk about potential relocation out of the Tampa Bay area. He also thinks that a new stadium on the other side of downtown Tampa (presumably near the fairgrounds) may be the best location for a new facility, as a means to attract fans from Orlando. However a recent Quinnipiac poll finds that the majority of central Florida baseball fans favor the Yankees, potentially contradicting Weiner’s idea on a stadium location. Perhaps those that find the Rays already in Tampa should listen to the fans who, time and again, have said they do not want the Rays in downtown Tampa, or in the fairgrounds region?

Desmond Jennings reached base three times and crossed the plate twice Friday against the Blue Jays. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)

The Rays are coming off of their second straight loss, this time at the hands of the Blue Jays. Tampa Bay was taken down by a score of 5-4, and they’ll attempt to rectify things in Port Charlotte this afternoon when they take on the Baltimore Orioles. A few Rays had a really good day, what more can you ask for in Spring Training?

Chris Archer threw three scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and striking out one. Joe Maddon was impressed with Archer’s outing noting, “He’s among the sharpest guys in camp right now.” Smells like a competiton for the coveted fifth spot if you ask me.

Desmond Jennings also had a strong day, reaching base three times while scoring two runs. Shelley Duncan went 1-3 with a two run homer, and Brandon Guyer went 2-2. I’d say they fared much better than they did on Thursday against Le Tigre.

Noteworthiness: In a rather odd move, Sean Rodriguez will get the start in center field. “I’ll do my best, try to put a good either Desmond or Sam Fuld impression out there,” said SeanRod on Maddon’s placement of him in the field.

This afternoons game will be aired on the Rays radio network, as will the game tomorrow.

As per Marc Topkin, “Sounds like Rays will have first cuts today.”

Hey guess what? We’ll be taking the X-Rays Spex show on the road in T-minus three days. I’m heading to Ft. Myers Tuesday to watch the Rays take on the Twins, and I will be live tweeting the game. Our handle is: @BARaysFanSite. Seek us out and be a part of our verbal tomfoolery – 140 characters at a time! We’ll also document the game via this new fangled contraption called a camera.

The Rays are in the Bay Area today to take on their AL East rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays. Tampa Bay will attempt to bounce back from a very ugly loss at the hands of the Detroit Tigers.

Left hander Matt Moore, by all accounts, didn’t look very good in his outing. Moore lasted 1-1/3 innings and giving up three hits and two runs while walking two. Jake McGee wasn’t much better. McGee came in to pitch the ninth, and was promptly pulled after facing five batters and allowing three runs.

There were a few highlights though. Roberto Hernandez pitched well. And though allowing a run and two walks in 2-1/3 innings may sound contradictory to the idea that he pitched well, Hernandez did record four ground ball outs and got through the second inning on just four pitches. Super Sammy drove in the Rays only runs on a fourth inning triple. Today is another day. Jake Odorizzi will get the start on the mound against the Jays.

Best of luck to Ben Zobrist as he makes his way to the WBC. We’ll be rooting you on, Zorilla!

Looks like Evan Longoria is opening a restaurant/sports bar in Tampa, called Duckys. The restaurant/sports bar will feature a respectable menu, lots of big screen TV’s, and mini-bowling. You can see the press release below.

Located just west of downtown (1719 W. Kennedy Boulevard), the 5,700-square-foot boutique sports lounge will be the only restaurant in South Tampa to feature four lanes of mini bowling – a smaller, simpler form of the sport that does not require special shoes, uses a smaller ball, and incorporates two, 80-inch high-definition projection screens in the middle of each lane for optimal game viewing.

The main attraction for sports fans will be the 42-inch screens placed throughout the lounge, making Ducky’s the “best seat in the house” for every sporting event.

The restaurant will seat 148 guests and will be open seven days a week for lunch, dinner, happy hour and late night dining.

The Ducky’s Sports Lounge concept was created and developed by several Tampa area businessmen, including Tampa Bay Rays three-time American League All-Star third baseman, Evan Longoria.

“Ducky’s will have a little something for everyone – mini bowling for friends and families, a convenient happy hour spot for the downtown crowd and an incredible game-watching venue for sports fans,” said Keith Goan, one of Ducky’s owners. “It’s exciting to be a part of the current wave of development along Kennedy Boulevard and to bring this unique concept to the area.”

Ducky’s menu has been developed by long-time chef Frankie Midulla who has worked in New York, Miami and Tampa. Chef Frankie honed his craft locally at Valencia Gardens and at his own restaurant, Midulla’s.

The menu will consist of innovative bar foods ranging from pretzel-wrapped pigs in a blanket to Italian sausage sliders. The restaurant will also feature New York-style thin-crust pizzas created by veteran Tampa restaurateur, Rico Iavarone, along with menu items inspired by local heritage, such as deviled crab, media noche sliders and palomilla steak sandwiches. Healthier options include “The Healthy Duck” – a healthy special of the day – and a create-your-own salad option.

Finally, Ken Rosenthal recently wrote an article on the Rays/James Shields trade with the Royals. The Royals GM, Dayton Moore, and the Rays GM Andrew Friedman opened up about the trade that brought Wil Myers and three other prospects to The Rays.

David Price worked one inning on Tuesday and said overall it was the best he felt all spring. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)

I’m feeling rather lazy so expect the bare minimum – bulleted highlights and lowlights, and other random musings. First though, a brief statement of the obvious; the Rays pounded the Pirates, and are now 5-1 on the spring.

Rays 2/27/13 box score (Courtesy of AOL Sports)

Rays 2/27/13 offensive line (Courtesy of AOL Sports)

Rays 2/27/13 pitching line (Courtesy of AOL Sports)

Bulleted Highlights and Lowlights, and other Random Musings:

Tim Beckham was 2-2 on the day, including a double,a triple, and a run scored. Beckham also made an outstanding play in the sixth inning, making a catch on a fly ball to medium-deep right field – as the second baseman. Maybe Beckham saw the writing on the wall following his suspension for illegal substances. I’ve heard tell that there is a chance he could get called up at some point this season. I reckon that this article could be a bit of smoke – and when there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Both Jeff Niemann and Jeremy Hellickson had impressive outings on the mound. Niemann posted his second shutout outing of the spring, going one inning and allowing no walks and no hits on 11 pitches. Niemann was quoted as saying, “If we can stay at that all year, it’d be great.” Hellickson went 1-2/3 innings while striking out two and giving up three hits. Helly, impressively, got out of a first-and-third, one-out jam by striking out next two hitters in the third inning.

Juan Sandoval had another good outing, giving up no hits and walking none, while striking out a batter in 1-1/3 innings of work.

Luke Scott went 2-3 with a run and an RBI double.

Jose Molina also went 2-3 with a run and an RBI.

Kelly Johnson got the start in left field, something he hasn’t done in six years. “I felt all right out there,” Johnson said. “I didn’t feel too much like a fish out of water or anything. It’s different, I’ll say that. It definitely breaks up the routine to go out there and see things from a different angle.” He also noted that he’s got to temper his aggressiveness in the outfield, “It’s easy in the infield. The ball gets to you quicker and you’ve got to get ready just a little earlier to react. If you do that in the outfield, a lot of times you’ll run yourself into a bad route. I had to fight that urge and relax a little bit. I had to sit a half-second longer to see the ball and then react.” Johnson is expected to get ample playing time as a super utility player at second base, shortstop, first base and the outfield this season.

The Rays also announced the starters for the next few games. Roberto Hernandez will get the start Thursday with Matt Moore in relief. Jake Odorizzi will see time on the mound Friday with Alex Cobb and David Price following suit on Saturday and Sunday.

Yes you saw right, Luke Scott and Ben Zobrist are trading places today. Scott will be in right and Zobrist is leading off at DH. Marc Topkin tweeted, “Scott on playing OF for first time since 2011: “Why not?” Said he feels good, eager for opportunity.” I was going to make a pretty sweet Trading Places pun, but decided against it – my brain just isn’t working at the moment.